I had a great run yesterday.   It wasn’t because I was fast because I wasn’t.   It wasn’t because it was easy because it wasn’t.  It was great because I had the support of my fellow Mama friends to gt me through it!

Yesterday I needed to do 12 miles.   I didn’t feel like doing it.   I couldn’t do it in the morning since I knew that I wouldn’t have enough time to get it done while my youngest was at his summer program.    I didn’t want to do it during the day, so that left the evening.   Unfortunately, I couldn’t get out the door till around 7:00.   I literally was running down the street as my husband was getting home.   Hey, dinner was on the table!   What more can a man ask for?

Anyway, I thought that I would be fine to be back before it got too dark.   I thought I went out prepared.   I wore my pink reflective vest, socks, and wrist bands.   I even work a small light on my visor.    Then about 5 miles into it, I am beginning to realize that I made a slight miscalculation on the sunset.   I ask Siri what time the Sun will set and find out that I miscalculated by more than a half an hour.   At this point, I am literally miles from home.   I didn’t want to have to call my hubby to pick me up and I wanted to get my run all the way in considering this was my first real week of marathon training.   Don’t want to get off on the wrong foot.   It’s not dark yet, but I know it’s coming.    What’s a Mama to do?

Call for reinforcements!!

BAMR Friends!

My long running routes, I usually loop to a local park.   A park with facilities and water fountains that I use to refill my bottles with.    As I was getting closer to thus particular park, I messaged the queen of night time blinky running, Janna.   As a plus, she is also only a 5 minute drive from the park.   Unfortunately, she was in the midst of a piano lessons but informed me that Dawn was at the park.    She told me that if Dawn didn’t have any blink on her that she would sent some back with her.   As I was running in the park, I started to call Dawn but then saw her across the parking lot!    Once I caught up with her, she informed me that unfortunately she did not have any blinky on her but would happily bring me back some after picking her daughter up at Janna’s!    So while waiting for Dawn to come back, I ran a half a loop around the park with another BAMR from my MRTT group that Dawn had been running with.    Then Dawn came back.   Suited me up so that I could safely make it home and off I went.

I finished the run, but did get slower as the miles went by.   More so because I wanted to be safe and visibility wasn’t that wonderful.    My headlamp may be good for camping, but it is not a running headlamp.   I did change my return route up a bit to stay on streets that I knew had some lighting.    By the time I got home it was dark, but i got in my 12 and that is really my goal.

To top it off my pace was off the whole run too.   I should have been running at a 10:45- 10:55 pace, but ended up running an average of 11:09.   Part of that is because I didn’t double check my pace before I left and really thought that I was supposed to be running an 11+ pace as I have been.   My bad.   Although, I don’t know that I had a faster pace in me anyway.   I guess I will see next time!

After coming home, getting a protein smoothy, stretching, showering, and eating; I went online and bought some more blinky’s to be better prepared next time.   I already had some, but I realize that what I have is more for dusk time running not it’s dark running.    The goal of all my runs is to come home safely and if I have to light up the night with my runs to do so, I will:)

Do you run at night?

What is your favorite night time running accessory?